The Heysel Stadium disaster of 1985.
Another Cover Up by the Authorities.
This article was mostly written prior to the excellent Channel 4 documentary which informed us
that an official health and safety report regarding the structural faults in
the Heysel stadium, written up after the disaster, was conveniently forgotten
and covered up by Maggie Thatcher. I have some of this documentary recorded and will
have some video downloads and more quotes and sources soon to highlight points made
in this article. Channel 4 have so far not released much info. As Liverpool FC
enters a new era, they cannot let this issue lie, and the families of the 39
deserve Justice.
"We're Sorry".
The Liverpool Echo, printed the names of the 39 victims of Heysel on its front page on Tuesday 05th April 2005. Above the names was a banner headline which read simply "We're Sorry". The Liverpool Echo decided in there wisdom to tell Liverpool fans who charged at the Juventus fans that they and they alone are to blame for the 39 deaths. This seems to conflict with what the UK, Belgium and European law might have to say on the matter in light of the new Channel 4 documentary. The Echo helpfully added - 'no ifs, no buts, no excuses'. Merseyside police are praised for basically scapegoating a few chosen fans to take the rap, and not looking to prosecute the stadium owners for using a death-trap. But the police have done this more than once in respect of crowd disasters as we will read in this article. Liverpool FC are congratulated for 'doing all they could to apologise'. Juventus fans don't see it that way. Liverpool FC took years to even put up a memorial for the 39. This is the same Liverpool FC that chose or were pressured to allow there own fans to enter a death-trap of a stadium which they knew should never have been used. Why no apology over that? It was Liverpool City Council Youth Workers and fans who actually made the first steps to take the first steps to communicate with ordinary Juventus fans after the tragic events. The people of Liverpool laid flowers at the door of all the Italian restaurants the next day. Trust me, every man and woman who came back from Heysel, carried a terrible burden of shame, guilt and sorrow and regret. 99% of those fans had absolutely nothing to do with the incidents which led to the 39 deaths. They mourned those fans and always will because they recognise a moral burden of responsibility. But the portion of blame they need to carry is not that which the Echo seems to suggest.
Two Sides Meet again after 20 Years
The returning Liverpool fans were stunned and it's taken many of them 20 years before they could apologise to Juventus direct, and show respect for the 39 victims and the Heysel survivors from the Kop and Annie and the Kemlyn and Main stands. We know it cannot end the matter, as the loved ones of those victims bear the pain still and have been left without answers from most people involved in the events. Liverpool fans apologise, but did the Belgium police, or FA or the European authorities and the Council in Heysel which gave a safety certificate to a death trap? The fans for the most part will show honesty if asked, we are sure they would come forward, but the authorities will not. I would appeal to any Juventus fan to please accept that Liverpool fans never went to Heysel with the intent of killing innocent people. A minority of Liverpool fans [and perhaps a sizable number of other football hooligans from England] went to fight you; a minority of your Ultras went to fight us. The majority of fans from both sides got along great and I have the photos as do many of Reds and Juventus fans of fans mixing together before the World stopped still for 39 families and their loved ones. As the Great singer Johnny Dowd informs us "Young men think that to be cruel is cool" - the behaviour of young men often causes hurt to innocent parties. Some fans on that fateful evening acted in an irresponsible manner and I'm not defending the actions. Acting stupid and acting maliciously to cause deaths are two different things entirely, but sometimes the effect is the same. What 'intent' did Liverpool fans have that evening when they rushed at the Juventus supporters? Two sets of supporters provoked each other, goaded each other, and those fans who stood near the fence hoping for trouble will have no other option than to shoulder the portion of blame which they are due. What is important for the families of the victims and the survivors of Heysel is that the events of Heysel are carefully examined at every stage, including safety certificates and surveyors reports into the actual state of the ground as well as looking at the actual crowd trouble and the crowd dynamics of that particular evening. The most publicised event was the behaviour of fans. History records that Liverpool fans were to blame for the Heysel Disaster. Juventus fans know in their hearts that a minority of two sets of supporters were to blame for the riot. Had this tie have been played at Wembley, the cup final of 1985 would have not gone down in history as 'the bloody cup'.
"K Martindale of Mossley Hill wrote to the Echo to say he had seen fans pick-pocketing
and kicking the corpses." Guardian report. K Martingdale should have been a
witness at a public inquiry.
(link
here ) .
Ever took a risk?
Many of us will have taken risks, calculated or not, which can have fatal consequences, but at the time will have seemed 'safe'. I was once instructed to attach a magnetic drill to a steel girder 450 feet up a lift shaft, but I was thankfully informed by someone wiser that I needed to tie or secure the drill to the steel girder in case of a power cut. I had not been instructed in the use of magnetic drills. A power cut duly happened as it always will on a building site. Myself and fellow workers were saved from possible death by someone who saw that the consequences of my actions could be lethal. The mere act of swinging out with your fists can lead to fatal consequences. No-one thinks that hitting a man might kill him, but if he falls unconscious and hits his head on a concrete floor, losing your temper for one second can be construed as murder as recently happened in Kirkby. The Lorry Driver who dangerously overloads his wagon might not have listened to the high wind forecasts, but he took the risk that it might happen. The person who signs a safety certificate without actually assessing safety might pocket the money and think that all will be well. A group of football fans rushing at an opposing group of fans, will assume that after any exchange of punches, that fans they've attacked will brush themselves off. After all, that's what happened on UK terraces.
Outrageous unsubstantiated Hooligan stories still make the media
Liverpool hooligans team up with Islamic Turkish hooligans for Scouse Jihad?
To say football hooliganism
'blighted the land' is to parrot a lie created by the media, and
also the myth created by the police who get paid by football fans to attend/police matches. The
police have a keen interest in how fans are portrayed and the politicians love to blame anything
but their own social policies. Unruly fans mean more overtime for the police and almost every
big match sees various stories of hooligan threats. Liverpools recent historical 2005 Euro Champions
league final had the Sunday Mirror state 4 days before the game, that there would be
mayhem as Liverpool hooligans had teamed up with Islamic Turkish hooligans to cause
chaos in Turkey. Utter fantasy, but the story was printed and read by millions of
people. The South Yorkshire Police used the media with great effect after Hillsborough,
and even though the lies were exposed by Lord Justice Taylor [RIP to a decent Englishman], the police still come out of it with not one portion of blame by the media.
Given the lack of deaths in football stadiums, due to actual fighting, I don't think that you can accuse all fans who fight in a stadium, of having the objective of killing people. It is a possible consequence of their actions, but other factors weighed heavy at Heysel and the deaths of the 39 were not caused by Liverpool fans trying to kill them. I agree that our burden of blame is duly accepted as regards those who ran at the Italian fans. I believe those fans are sorry, but we could not blame the families or friends of the 39 victims if they felt aggrieved still. 20 years is too soon to heal these wounds, and if truth be told the wounds of the family members and loved ones will never heal completely. Our offer of a hand of friendship is always there and Juventus fans saw the genuine welcome off the fans in our town. Those Juventus fans who turned there backs may have had reason to do so. Some thought the event a 'circus', and perhaps the cynicism of political forces at play was detected. In truth, the Heysel Families will be like the Hillsborough Families, and one or two may be seen as the voice of concern on that matter, whilst the rest are barely ever heard. Liverpool FC should have invited ALL the families of the 39 and representatives of the survivors. Some Juventus fans were rightfully upset at this.
Deaths on the Terraces
Most of us are lucky that our mistakes have not led to more serious consequences and the mistakes at Heysel should have led to nothing more than two sets of fans being ceremoniously separated by policemen earning all that money we throw at them for protecting us. Most football fans fighting on the terraces in 1985 suffered no worse than a bruise or cut lip. We've all seen the dramatic stories in the media and 101 hooligan books on the market, but count up the fans murdered in English football grounds by other fans and you will see that there are none. The 'blood on the terraces' myth helps sell books and gives the readers of newspapers some more anti working class hatred to help them feel better. The fans dying in the UK are not the victims of other fans, despite English hooliganism being imagined as the underlying factor in stadium deaths. Not even 1% of deaths in UK stadiums can be laid at the door of fans. But football fans are demonised so much you would think that the list of the hundreds of fans who have died or were killed at football stadiums is down to football fans. People have been seriously injured by other fans, but few and far between. Fans have been killed in skirmishes outside stadiums, but the ratio of murders of football fans, by other fans, is lower than the average statistics for the normal public or couples. There is more violence in the pubs and Town Centres than the football match. We pay more attention to football hooliganism than we do to domestic violence. Any violence at a football game gets ample coverage in the Echo whilst reports of local woman almost kicked to death by partners, get a small mention. We read more about football hooligans than child abusers, but who is the real threat to society? Those who did not want to fight in the UK football grounds were protected by segregation and police and strict crowd controls. Today, the UK is trouble free in most stadiums. In the 70's and 80's, most 'hooligans' would concentrate on fighting each other when they got the chance, or sometimes they would fight the police themselves. As history records, not one UK police man or woman has ever been killed by a football fan. Statistics, as we have already stated, show that the deaths in sports stadiums in the UK and Worldwide are rarely if ever the cause of fans alone. (see Hillsborough Justice campaigns history of sporting disasters) It is the club owners, Council safety officials, politicians and the police themselves who are causing most of the deaths. Juventus fans died due to circumstances mostly beyond the control of Liverpool fans.
Undercover UK and Liverpool police in the Heysel stadium saw the death trap for themselves as the terraces literally crumbled under the feet of fans they mingled with before the game. One of these officers told a fan that 6 Merseyside officers could have held back the crowds when the fence was being pulled down. It is now revealed that Liverpool fans used various plastic poles as weapons, and they 'found' the weapons stored inside the stadium in the Liverpool fans section. I truly believe that the intent of Liverpool fans in 1985 was no different than the Juventus fans. That the Juventus fans were the ones who died is a matter of chance. No-one is denying some blame, but it is the portion of blame which concerns me. This is no way an attempt to avoid responsibility.
Blaming the fans is weakest legal attack for the families of the 39
There were fans from both sides intent on causing trouble and the authorities had
basically arranged for one of the most dangerous stadiums they could find to host a
major prestigious football game involving two football clubs with massive support.
I do not buy the
'no ifs or buts' argument given by the Liverpool Echo and
neither did the Channel 4 documentary. In legal terms - this blame pointing solely
towards the fans leaves the families of the 39 with lingering doubts over all the
other aspects of that fatal evening. It would be incompetence for any legal team
not to broaden the scope of blame surrounding the events. No court could convict
the fans for manslaughter as the fans could not know that the collapsing wall
was going to be a consequence of their actions. This wall was not built according
to safety specifications and was passed by someone who did not apparently know
the support posts for the wall was attached back to front. To speak of murder
with regards to the Liverpool fans is wrong as the intent of the Liverpool fans
was not to cause loss of life. Individuals from both sides were doubtless
capable of doing grave harm, but with 50,000 people from any walk of life
there will be a percentage of such people. By any stretch of the imagination,
it is impossible to accuse Liverpool fans of realising the carnage that would
occur after a mere charge of one set of fans against another. The trouble
between fans was predicted, and yet the decision to use Heysel under the
security and 'safety' arrangements which were agreed on, all went ahead
regardless of the obvious dangers. Do Liverpool fans share some of the
blame? Of course they do. They reacted to and caused provocation, and
like many, were not in a position to turn the other cheek as a neutral
section in the Liverpool fans end of the ground was being
'invaded' by
Juventus fans. Had a small section of Liverpool fans been in the Juventus
end in some chicken fenced
'neutral section' - the same reaction would
have happened, perhaps worse.
Burden of blame
There is a burden of blame, but that blame is now being placed entirely on Liverpool fans,
and that is wrong. The Liverpool Echo were busy, as ever, rewriting history to suit there
own, and Liverpool FC's agenda. I'd say that the Liverpool fans who charged at the Juventus
fans were about as much to blame as the minority of Juventus fans who took over a neutral
section, fired rockets, threw missiles and taunted the Liverpool fans with throat slitting
gestures. As thousands of Scousers had seen the AS Roma hooligans out in force the previous
year, fans had every reason to believe that the Italians were tooled up again and would
indeed cut up innocent fans with little provocation. Both sets of supporters share maybe
10% of the blame split equally down the middle. The rest of the blame can be dished out
to Liverpool FC, Juventus, UEFA, the Belgium FA, Juventus and corrupt politicians and
the useless Belgium police, who basically ran away at the sort of trouble the average
British copper would see week in week out in the 80's. Blaming the fans lets the police
off the hook, the football authorities and the politicians. The two respective clubs
cannot deny that they SAW the crumbling dilapidated wreck of a stadium beforehand,
and knew of the worrying 'security' arrangements. The families and loved ones of the
39 should have rightfully been able to sue the authorities as the chain of events
which killed these people, was out of the hands of football fans for the most part.
Had the stadium been safe and had better security arrangements, those 39 people
would likely be alive today and we all know it. Liverpool fans would NOT have
chosen that stadium. Liverpool fans knew that trouble might occur, but as usual,
no-one listened. Football fans warn of the danger - then get blamed 100% by
our own Government afterwards when the predictions come true.
Question - Who the hell would choose a stadium which was visibly falling apart?
Answer: People who are looking to make money and/or play politics.
Question: Do Football clubs and the European authorities look upon fans as simple profit margins?
Answer: Yes.
Question: Do football fans have any say in allocation of tickets, stadiums or safety matters?
Answer: No.
Question: Who was ultimately responsible for the safety of the stadium?
Question: The politicians in that particular vicinity. They cannot issue a safety certificate unless the venue is safe.
1985
1985 was a terrible year for English football and it is all the more shameful that it heralded the era of the 'professional' hooligans much hyped and promoted by the press. The deaths of the Bradford fans did not deter them from seeking to use football as another arena to battle in. A minority of 'Ingerland' fans wrapped the cross of St George and Union Jack around themselves as they sought to fight 'Johnny Foreigner', or sometimes even each other from 85 onwards. A Liverpool councillor, amongst others, reported that "he distinctly made out a contingent of skinheads wearing Union Jack T-shirts and speaking with cockney accents". National Front leaflets were reported by several witnesses including the Belgium Mayor. Liverpool chairman Smith also issued a statement saying that the troublemakers were "NF supporters, probably from London", and also that "a shot had been fired before the worst part of the riot." (Guardian reporting on old Echo articles from 1985)
Ingerland Fans
Most Liverpool fans, though not all, disliked with intensity the minority of idiots who took to following England and trying to re-enact battles from WW2 over in Europe. We hated them because they were spoiling Europe for us - and they were also dividing European fans when we should have been uniting trying to fight the likes of Murdoch and the money men who have stolen the game from many of us. Juventus are sponsored now by Sky, yet generally play in a half empty stadium like many of the European Giants of Football, which they undoubtedly are. In the UK we've seen football clubs wiped out completely, and stadiums renamed to sad pathetic sponsors names. Only the football elite have really benefited, and the safe stadiums we see now are nothing more than we should have had in the first place.
The Bradford FC Fire.
On Saturday the 11th of May 1985, a fire at Bradford FC's ground caused the deaths of 56 Bradford fans. The fire is sometimes forgotten by the media who see fans attacking fans as being more newsworthy than stadium owners who play a role in the deaths by negligence and stupidity. The fire was caused perhaps by a lighted cigarette dropping onto piles of rubbish negligently left to accumulate under the stadium. Thankfully, the truth came out. In the Kings Cross fire the same negligence in detecting the dangerous build up of combustible material, led to 31 people being killed including the Soho Station Officer Colin Townsley, who died trying to rescue a woman. Once the onus of blame is properly established, bereaved families can sue the authorities. Money does not heal, but the families are left without a breadwinner, and money earner. You would not think of money if your loved one were killed at Heysel or Bradford or Hillsborough, but someone has to think of it, and logically, if we attend to that important need, then it is a massive burden removed. Sadly, the authorities and businesses seek to avoid blame so as to avoid paying out compensation. I am totally ignorant of what if any compensation was awarded to the Heysel families and the survivors and those injured both physically and mentally. As one of the bereaved family members told Channel 4, the Heysel disaster had killed more than 39 over the years, and many had lost their minds and taken to drugs and alcohol to deaden the pain. Liverpool still owes these people something.
1985 was also the year of the Heysel Disaster which occurred on Wednesday the 29th of May 1985. 38 Italians, all Juventus Supporters, and 1 Belgium national all died through injuries sustained in a crush which collapsed a wall in a section of ground reserved for 'neutrals'. Liverpool FC had been warned ever since the two sides made it through to the final, that there was a terrible animosity between sections of supporters, and it was always a high risk game. Crowd trouble was predicted and expected.
1984, Italians slash Liverpool fans in unprovoked attacks after Final
Prior to Heysel, the previous year saw Liverpool FC famously win the European cup playing AS Roma in 1984. The final was played at AS Romas Ground in Italy. After the game, which Liverpool won fair and square, Liverpool fans were hunted down as gangs of Italian hooligans used knives to slash out at anyone who looked English. Entering the ground, Liverpool fans were robbed of cameras and jewellery by stewards and gate attendants, as the local police looked on almost pleased with themselves. The corrupt and fascist sympathising Italian police also stole property and belongings from fans. (there are many accounts) The police ignored the Italian hooligans, as they cut up English people at random. No accounts from British police on duty there have been made public, and there was no condemnation of the Italian police by the British Government which was always quick to scream at football violence in the UK. As the BBC records on its website, "a 13 yr old was 'cut up' and needed 200 stitches."
Dozens of Liverpool fans were beaten up and stabbed and slashed. It was so bad that Liverpool fans got abandoned by Italian coach drivers and many had to seek sanctuary in the British Embassy. The AS Roma fans and the gangs of scooter casuals and perhaps packs of local youth, all tore into Liverpool fans who were left at there mercy. We wonder if the same people used the issue of Heysel to call the English 'animals' 12 months or so after these attacks? A year after these worrying events, Liverpool fans would once again be faced by some Italian fans provoking them. The English football hooligan grapevine picked up on all the stories of how the Italians had inflicted such injuries on English fans. No investigation of the 1984 incidents had ever been made in earnest and the matter was forgotten, but not by Liverpool fans.
Fans were genuinely shocked at the level of animosity in 1984 in Italy, but beating the Italians 1-0,
and dancing in the Trevvi Fountain whilst taking over bars and clubs singing and being merry
was perhaps provocation enough for some Italian hotheads. There are no reports of any
major attacks by Liverpool fans and no cup final has ever been used by Liverpool fans
to do battle with other fans. This is almost a golden rule and people acting stupidly
at the big events are kept in order by fellow fans. The atmosphere for prestigious
cup finals is almost a holiday or carnival experience and people would generally have
no fear of bringing children or girlfriends and wives. In truth, most football grounds,
despite the media image of the terraces running red with blood, have always had a fair
amount of children present. This is hardly a sign of fans being particularly dangerous
is it? Thousands of fans from outside Liverpool became supporters because of the
Liverpool supporters as much as the team. It was the friendliness of the Liverpool
fans which attracted many to fall in love with our City and even move here. This
is not to say we do not have our own idiots who spoil our friendly image. Which
town doesn't? At any given game in the 80's, there would be hundreds of people
from other towns or countries invited to the Kop. No fan has ever died on the
Kop or Anfield in over 100 years due to the consequences of any trouble there.
Blood on the terraces? The worse I saw on the Kop was urine on the terraces.
The police used to allow a certain fan onto the pitch before the game to
traditionally hit a goal in the net. One Copper called
'The Walrus'
[he had a big moustache] would comfortably deal with thousands of fans at Anfield.
The trouble all began in the late 70's and 80s as the fans saw the police as the
riot cops belting miners and printers and helping Maggie Thatcher sell off the UK.
1981 saw Thatcher turn Liverpool into a war zone and the policing of football
crowds became less friendly and the gap between the police and public
and workers grew in earnest. To their credit, Merseyside police today and
in the past, have an exemplary record as regards safety in Stadiums
here on Merseyside. Had they oversaw the policing in 1984, Juventus
fans would not have died. Tens of millions of fans have entered
Goodison and Anfield over the years, and no death has occurred
as a result of football violence.
I felt safer there on the Kop than I do right now under the gaze of CCTV and with armed cops 10 minutes away. The Kop had a personality of its own and embodied much of the Scouse spirit. When Liverpool played Juventus recently at Anfield,
this spirit was there in earnest - and the voices of the Kop sang out and reached out to
most of the Juventus fans. Those who turned there backs may have done so more due to
the official efforts by politicians and the Club itself to put a closure on the matter.
The fools who want revenge, are just fools. Let's get one thing right, people who use
football as another arena to cause violence are idiots - and you won't find many people
defending their behaviour or that of any other anti social behaviour. Had these fans
put as much effort into fighting for Justice for the Heysel families, it might bring
Justice, not look to create more victims and bad blood. The recent snub by some Juventus
fans to Liverpools Lord Mayor was understandable, because people assume whatever the
politicians say to us is insincere. However, how can any of us ever have closure when
there has never been any public inquiry? Liverpool fans can give there honest accounts,
many did so in small publications such as the infamous, but great
'The End'
magazine/fanzine plus the excellent football fanzines, but will the politicians?
Will the football authorities and stadium managers and police? 20 years is not
too late to ask for Justice. As long as the Heysel victims and families live,
they will want Justice.
When 1985 came - the meeting of another Italian football team against Liverpool was
always going to see some trouble. The final was to take place in Belgium, and as such
would be neutral territory with equal numbers of fans.
29 May 1985
The day of the Heysel disaster itself was fairly good humoured with fans mixing together
with no major trouble beforehand. Skirmishes amongst younger men were taking place through
the day, but mostly angry exchanges, with a few Reds remembering the previous year and
being restrained by mates. The Belgium police did not do their jobs properly, their
incompetence is something that they neatly avoided answering, but I think football
fans might understand that the police would like to be left out of the investigations.
The town surrounding the Heysel stadium [now renamed] is almost a small village a few
miles from the hustle and bustle of Brussels city centre, with a sprinkling of pubs, a
few cafes and a few shops selling alcohol. The stadium itself was not acceptable to
use for any football match in the UK. No Council could have legally passed it in a
safety inspection. It was a death trap and should never have been chosen. The greed
of the men in suits and other supposed dignitaries was the main cause or catalyst
of this disaster. Hosting these finals is a bit of a political coup, and once
politicians begin to mess with football - it gets destroyed. Liverpool FC, as
per usual procedure, will have sent a representative over and inspected the stadium
and facilities and agreed to use them. The pre game inspection in the mid 80's would
have been a simple short stay and a walk around the stadium. The pitch would be
inspected, perhaps terraces walked on, terraces which were crumbling to the visible
eye. When all is said and done, Liverpool FC, were always going to bow down to the
political pressure forced upon anyone who tried to meddle with the stadium choice,
and the method of policing and ticket allocations. Merseyside police might have
advised the Belgium police, but often rivalry can take place and police ignore
other police when they feel their own 'control' on their own 'patch' is being
threatened. It is likely that Merseyside police back then would not have
visited the stadium until maybe the day before the game when some officers would have went along with the fans and others mingled with the
Belgium cops. A full public inquiry would of course have laid bare all these important
details which seem to be ignored. Remember that we were at a time when the UK police
were using units formerly set up to spy on the miners to actually infiltrate football
hooligans. Liverpool FC could have refused to play there of course, but any
organisation interested in making money has to take risks and bear down to
political pressures.
Belgium has a lot of clout in Europe and host the European Parliament. The
Belgium Government was dumped a few years back as a great paedophile scandal
and cover up showed us the true colours of the Belgium political
'elite' who
Thatcher once protected by her acceptance of blame on the behalf of Liverpool fans. At the
time, massive plans were being made for football with dreams of a new European Championship
or Super League and the English Premier League on the planning charts. Liverpool FC, always
part of the breakaway clubs looking for premier leagues, assumed Liverpool fans, who saw
there mates sliced up like salami the previous year, would get along 'ok' this time around.
Liverpool FC were told by many fans that getting along 'ok' would only be possible by
complete segregation. Had a delegation of fans seen the plans I am sure they would have
stated clearly that serious trouble would result from the arrangements made to accommodate
them. A savvy builder would have immediately noted the state of disrepair and wondered
what materials were used and whether it was wise to even stand on the crumbling terraces.
Liverpool carefully weighed up the police numbers, the emergency contingency plans,
[if applicable] and the chicken wire fence. They will have prayed that tickets, on
the black market, would be sold to Belgium's, not Italians. Warnings of tickets
being sold to Italians were made by Liverpool fans before the game. A decent
security fence would have meant more money out of the pockets of the stadium
management, so they saved money by using the throwaway fencing that we all
witnessed being torn down. Although the stadium was crumbling, it would take
a basic smattering of know how to imagine that crumbling terraces in a
stadium built on backhanders by cowboy builders might perhaps point
to other structural decay and deterioration in the walls and the
actual crush barriers. Liverpool FC pressed UEFA for changes,
but when all is said and done, they went ahead and agreed to
use the place despite reservations. This is why Liverpool should defend fans being blamed entirely for this matter. But
if Liverpool apologise for the fans, they neatly avoid being seen as bearing
some responsibility, if only a moral one. They avoid investigations into there
ticket allocations and were these tickets went. They should spell out carefully
the events and the reasons why they felt 'pressured' to take that death trap of
a stadium and accept it as suitable for there own fans. So should Juventus.
Now we know the stadium was a death-trap, the clubs have to acknowledge that
they played a role in accepting it as a suitable venue.
Public inquiry
There should be a public inquiry on the matter, and then, and only then, will the
families of the Heysel 39 be given all the answers they might need. To be honest,
their wishes seem to be ignored for the most part. As seen on the Channel 4 documentary,
they simply want Justice, and for this reason we need to revise the events of Heysel
and look closely at this part of our history. Liverpool FC and Liverpool fans could
have raised funds, and as a matter of honour could have gone some way towards making
compensation. But the legal situation at the time was steered towards blame being
broadly delegated to Liverpool fans then left to simmer away with no legal closure
whatsoever. The Liverpool fans were charged and a few served time in jail, but
that, and a ban for all English sides from European football, seemed to end
the matter. The victims of Heysel are forgotten like our victims here -
betrayed by the Government and left to suffer needlessly. Like the victims
of Hillsborough, they may see the blame as being in the hands of various
parties, such as the FA and the Club or Stadium owners as well as the police
and the football clubs for agreeing to stupid ticket arrangements. Unlike
Hillsborough, they will see some of the blame as being in the hands of
the fans that did cause trouble. But of all the parties involved that night,
only Liverpool fans can perhaps hold their own hands up and say that they
have accepted, in a moral sense, the due portion of blame they deserve.
I believe that the fans involved had the decency to be honest afterwards,
and some travelled to Italy personally to beg forgiveness off the families
for their own part. Honesty was the least the Heysel victims could expect
from us, but as a citizen of Liverpool, I feel the ordinary people here
would have no part in covering up the deaths of the 39. A public inquiry
would have put this to the test, but the authorities denied the Heysel
families this.
A due legal process
If a child died in a road accident, even if it was filmed by the local TV station
and witnessed by hundreds and the driver had the smell of alcohol on his breath,
the events would have to go through a proper due legal process. In the case of
Heysel, Maggie Thatcher actually threw the evidence and legal statutes in the bin,
and she
'knew' Liverpool fans were to blame because she saw it on TV. This is a
Prime Ministers response. She saw the end result of one of the most incompetent
displays of crowd organisation/management ever witnessed in a cup final and hid the
main evidence regarding the safety of the stadium. She buried the evidence and put
the Heysel families through all these years of doubt and worry. Thatcher, may she
boil in the cauldrons of Hell, was always going to side with the bosses or stadium
owners, and even congratulated the incompetent Belgium police whose actual
response was likely similar to Hillsborough in that people died because the
police are or were not particularly good at basic first aid, or organising
a basic triage response to the injuries or access for ambulances. At any
major event with big crowds, police should have a basic back up plan for
evacuation and routes for ambulances and emergency services to gain easy
access. At Heysel, it is estimated that 10 people would have likely been
saved as the post mortem pointed to injuries that were only fatal because
they were not diagnosed and treated with basic medical procedures. If
these figures are correct, then we might suppose that of the 96 who were
killed at Hillsborough, maybe 24 or so might have been saved by first
aid and basic medical equipment.
Ticket Allocations
The security for the game in 1985 at Heysel was pathetic and anyone could simply
walk in the stadium without producing a ticket. Tickets are sold on the ratio of
the numbers of people allowed in the stadium or building which the paying public
can enter. Neither the European authorities the Belgium football or civic authorities
or the police made any attempt to check tickets or even count the number of fans entering
what was to become a dangerously overcrowded stadium. The extra numbers allowed in
through the lack of any security procedure, was a major factor in the actual
crush which led to the wall collapsing. With Liverpool being allocated the
smallest end of the ground, the concentration of fans in that end was acute.
How many British clubs received allocations of the tickets? Remember that
these finals see tickets being handed out to clubs and players and the hangers on.
Some of these tickets, given to UK football clubs were sold in Belgium to Liverpool
fans. Most of the tickets for the neutral section were sold to Italians, and many
made there way there knowing it was next to the Liverpool fans. Many done so quite
innocently, and had no intent of doing anything but watching a game of football,
but a fair number of Juventus fans seemed intent on provoking Liverpool fans.
No-one stopped non neutrals entering the neutral zone. No investigation was
made, to my knowledge, on sales of tickets or any other aspect of the events
apart from blaming Liverpool fans. In 1985, or years previous, UK football
players would sneakily sell there allocations of tickets to parasite touts
such as Stan Flashman and others. Liverpool fans were known for beating up
touts and taking tickets so that true fans could partake in watching the game.
Some Belgium touts were reported as being beaten up and robbed at Heysel.
Safety Certificate?
I'm not sure if this crappy little stadium had a safety certificate, but maybe the Mayor at
the time, or the leader of the Civic Authorities might know. This is an important point. It
is little wonder the corrupt Belgium politicians were glad to hear Maggie Thatcher take
the blame on Liverpool fans behalf.
The deaths of the 39 occurred just after Liverpool fans breached the chicken wire
fence meant to separate the two sets of fans. Numbers of Italian and British men,
intent on causing trouble, had already spent a good part of the day drinking, and
tempers were ready to explode if they were allowed to. With Italians at one end of
the stadium and the English at the other - it would have been just another high stake
and passionate game. Afterwards, the victors could have been held back for half an hour
and the losers made there way to pubs and bars and hotels. Belgium has riot police
tooled up with guns and big shields and batons. I am sure that the game would have
seen some trouble afterwards, but no way would we have had innocent people lying
dead on such a scale.
As the crowd trouble began, I was listening to a local Liverpool radio station
called Radio City, which had the commentary. My father was there at the game,
faithful and loyal to the cause, and Kirkby itself had many people who had made
there way there. A German TV crew interviewed some returnees in the Molly public
house in Kirkby the next day. Liverpool fans and a selection of hooligans from other British
clubs, [this matter is still debated as to whether there were sizable or organised numbers
of 'outsiders'] ran at the flimsy throwaway fence and the small group of Belgium
police fled as the situation deteriorated. What seemed to be poles from the fence
was actually various building materials left in the Liverpool end. Plastic poles
were used by fans that discovered an open store at the back of the stadium. The
section fenced off from Liverpool fans, had some Italian hooligans goading the
Liverpool fans - the throat slitting gestures indicating that the previous
years encounter had not been forgotten. Fireworks and also stones and other
projectiles rained down on Liverpool fans before any reaction using force
was made. The initial provocation also saw a giant banner with Red Animals
daubed on it being waved at the opposite end. The men who fought will have
been a mixture of people caught up in the occasion and doubtless a few
idiots who were hoping and looking for things to boil over. The author
of the Everton FC novel 'scally' was there. He is a self confessed
'hooligan'
from the bad old days of the 70's and 80's. He had no involvement in
the trouble according to his book and was in another part of the ground.
This point needs exploring more as regards to other hooligans being
there but I am not using it as an excuse, just pointing out an issue
which would be easily answered in any inquiry. Did Liverpool fans
ask for assistance from other clubs hooligan firms? Or did some people
just turn up as Dover is just up the road and it's fairly cheap to go
over to France and get a train up to Belgium?
The ground itself was opened up at around 4.30pm. Fans entered the crumbling
stadium with Juventus fans taking the biggest end were the 'Ultras' gathered.
Juventus fans used to have a left wing outlook, but fascists won control of the
terraces in the 80's and the Ultras of the 80's were often looking for trouble.
They were tooled up with weapons, and one even produced a gun - which he
apparently fired. No-one knew it was a starting pistol, but rest assured
this would not have happened with a Liverpool fan. Liverpool fans have
never had any big hooligan firm of note, but were known for massive
travelling support and a fair few pilferers [robbers], who would set
off to Euro games penniless, hoping to fund there adventure by way
of sleight of hand. Some are just hangers on who would be there at
any major sporting event looking for someone to rob or just have a
laugh. In the 80's this behaviour reflected society at large when
crime began to take off as unemployment and redundancies and sell
offs came in. Londoners were known for being hooligans more than
robbers, Millwall. West Ham and Chelsea always had more fans up
for a fight than Liverpool and Everton. Remember that only a
small minority of fans would behave in this manner, most were
well behaved. Our loudness is often mistaken for aggressive behaviour
although to say no Liverpool fans were violent would be a lie. A few
were, but it generally was a minority. I would say it is possible
Juventus had more 'hooligans' back then following the club than
Liverpool had. Prior to Heysel, Liverpool FC fans actually sang
'We're the best behaved supporters in the Land' The record is
there for all to see in the arrest averages for those periods
bearing in mind the attendances of respective clubs. Liverpool
had the largest following in the UK and up until 1984, and
the AS Roma attacks, all our trips to Europe had been relatively
trouble free with little incidence of note.
The Bloody Cup Paraded
Those who went there with intent on causing violence did not realise that behind the
goading Italians near the fence was a crowd of decent supporters, families and older
supporters whose intent was to simply watch the team they loved. A few neutrals were
there as recorded by the one Belgium national who was killed and several injured. The
fans that attacked the Juventus supporters did not realise that there actions would
cause the crowd to be crushed to such levels that the pressure would force a wall,
already dangerously weak, to collapse. The Italians goading the Liverpool fans ran
as soon as the goading worked and therefore in some small way condemned there fellow
fans to the terrible events which culminated in the structural collapse of part of
the stadium. To actually allow the event to go on with people dead and dying, and
with a stadiums structural integrity compromised, is absolutely sickening. The
game itself was a charade and an insult to the dead and dying. The score was
1-0 for Juventus and the Juventus actually paraded the Bloody Cup in front of
their fans.
Liverpool fans were charged and jailed for political convenience. Some were involved
in the trouble, but they were scapegoats and they were jailed to make it seem like
Justice had been done.
Blame the fans, and everyone else playing a part in the fatal events will have neatly
avoided being called to account. The Heysel families could take out private prosecutions
against the fans involved in the trouble, but given the many parties involved in the events,
this would be doomed to failure if it were the main thrust of any legal moves. The Belgium
civic authorities and their own FA and the European football officialdom should surely
be held to account before the fans. Liverpool FC and Juventus FC agreed to use a
dangerous stadium despite reservations. Liverpool and Juventus fans provoked each
other and a minority, as always, would cause trouble if given a chance.
This website has long carried the torch for the Hillsborough Justice Campaign,
and we only hope that the Heysel families and survivors will see that our call
for Justice with regards to Heysel is sincere.
The Portion of Blame
Remember, this article is not about avoiding blame, it is about the portion of
blame allocated to all those involved in the events. The main evidence or points
of interest raised in this article are from accounts of Liverpool fans that were
there and in part the new evidence by Channel 4. I have every faith that these
fans and others would come forward if they were only asked.
We've had nothing but mudslinging for 20 years, with the Heysel issue being used to
portray ALL football fans as animals. I think it is sensible for the matter to be
looked at by independent experts who can collate the evidence before we have some
sort of hearing. I personally think the authorities want this issue to remain
covered up.
Justice for the 39 and the Heysel Survivors and Bereaved Families.
